Retired U.S. Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens, Chief Judge Diane P. Wood of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (center) and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan discuss their experiences on the bench during a round-table discussion on Monday. The program was part of the three-day joint annual meeting of the 7th Circuit Bar Association and the 7th Circuit Judicial Conference at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, 211 N. Columbus Drive, ending today.

Posted May 3, 2016 2:41 PM

Vacancies on bench cause concern

John Paul Stevens doesn’t expect to see the highest court in the land up to full strength any time soon.

In Chicago on Monday night, the retired U.S. Supreme Court justice predicted the vacancy created by Antonin G. Scalia’s death will not be filled until after President Barack Obama leaves the White House.

“I wish there would be” a new justice on the court by early next year, Stevens said, but he doesn’t see that happening.

His successor, Elena Kagan, declined to discuss the matter.

Asked if she has talked to Merrick B. Garland since Obama nominated him to fill Scalia’s seat, Kagan simply said “sorry” as she rushed from a ballroom in the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel on Columbus Drive.

Stevens and Kagan had just taken part in a discussion about their experiences on the high court.

Joining the two was Chief Judge Diane P. Wood of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The discussion was held during the joint annual meeting of the 7th Circuit Bar Association and the 7th Circuit Judicial Conference.

The gathering of judges and lawyers who work in the federal courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin began Sunday and ends today.

Earlier in the day, Wood had taken a wait-and-see attitude about the possibility the U.S. Senate will fill two vacancies on the Chicago-based 7th Circuit.

She conceded Garland seems to be the Senate’s primary focus.

And she conceded the Senate has not scheduled hearings for Obama’s nominees to the 7th Circuit.

But Wood refused to foreclose the possibility that the Senate will vote on those nominations rather than let them expire.